If The Day is Done by Rabindra Nath Tagore (Text & Summary)

 

If The Day is Done

by Rabindra Nath Tagore

(Text & Summary) 

This is the 24^th poem of ‘Gitanjali’. In this poem, Tagore longs for God's command for death. He is prepared to die whenever God wills him to. He says, that Death is not permanent, it is only a renewal of the body and its outer garments. Death means that the physical body shall be renewed while the soul, the spirit shall be the same as before. The poet welcomes Death and prays for it, for it means rebirth and renewal of one's powers.

If The Day is Done

If the day is done, if birds sing no more, if the wind has flagged tired, then draw the veil of darkness thick upon me, even as thou hast wrapt the earth with the coverlet of sleep and tenderly closed the petals of the drooping lotus at dusk.

From the traveler, whose sack of provisions is empty before the voyage is ended, whose garment is torn and dust-laden, whose strength is exhausted, remove shame and poverty, and renew his life like a flower under the cover of thy kindly night.

 

In this lyric, Tagore talks about death and how it implies a new life, a new beginning instead of an end. In the poem, the poet pleads God for death. He says, since the day has ended and all his worldly chores finished and completed, since the birds have stopped singing and even the wind has slowed down, please draw the veil of darkness. The poet asks God to put an end to his life like He has put the earth to sleep by covering it up in a coverlet of sleep and like He tenderly, softly covers up the petals of a blooming lotus when night comes.

The poet then compares himself to a traveler, whose bag of provisions has become empty, whose clothes are torn and dusty and who is tired and exhausted and prays God to give him the gift of death and thus save him from shame and poverty and bring fresh life as to a flower who blooms again the next day having been blessed with life the previous night.